what can i tow

[suboffroader]

hi all just a question if any one can help me out

i passed my driving test in march and dont really know what i can tow with my 90

from dvla website

Car licences obtained on or after 1 January 1997

If you passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 you're limited to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass towing a trailer up to 750kgs, or a vehicle and trailer combination up to 3.5 tonnes MAM providing the MAM of the trailer doesn't exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle. You will need to pass an additional driving test in B+E if you wish to tow a caravan or trailer combination which exceeds these weight limits.

am i just restricted to the weight of the trailer or is there other things such as the size or twin axle units etc

[landroversforever]

The restriction i believe is down to the Plated weight. The complete outfit can only be up to a certain weight.

[dirkthe1]

legally not a great deal-its a bit a of a PITA and not all that many people actually realise it!

[Disco Sam]

as far as i know you ave to take your B+E test to tow a trailer now, it's worth while doing as it can't be very hard and if you fail it you really shouldnt be towing a trailer just like you wouldnt drive a car without a licence

[mike4444244]

erm in a nutshell, assuming your 90 has a plated weight of 2t you can tow 1.5t to make 3.5t with the tow car heavier than the trailer...

in practice not much! I'm in the same boat as you but I drive a 110 (3t therefore can only tow 750kg)

I'm afraid the only way round it is to sit a test

Mike

[Rich_P]

Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

This means you can tow up to the unladen weight of the tow vehicle, as long as the trailer and tow vehicle combined do not exceed 3.5 tonnes. The plate on the trailer must also not exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle.

So to put this into context. My 88 weighs 1,500kg. That permits me to tow a trailer that is rated up to 1,500kg on the plate because:

1.) It does not exceed the unladen weight of my 88.

2.) The combined max weight of the trailer and 88 unladen equals 3,000kg.

However if the vehicle is a Discovery then if I remember rightly it is unladen at around 2,000kg. That leaves you only with 1,500kg left to play with, even though there is another 500kg before the unladen weight of tow vehicle. This is because if you had the trailer up to the Discovery unladen weight, it would put you up to 4,000kg, exceeding the limit.

If the tow vehicle weighs for instance 2,750kg to 3,500kg then you are restricted to a total maximum of 750kg (in other words a small dinky braked trailer).

[LiamC]

We tow boats and boat trailers around at work using either big 4x4's or small vans which creates another complication. If we have a empty trailer weighing 500kgs but plated at 2000kgs a cat B licenced driver could not tow this with the 4x4 because the plated weight of trailer plus vehicle is over 3500kgs, they could also not tow it with the van because the plated weight of the trailer is greater than that of the van. If that driver has a B+E license it is no longer the plated weight that is considered but the actual weight you are towing. So a B+E driver can tow the empty trailer with either the 2200kgs 4x4 or the 1000kgs van. If the trailer is laden it can only be pulled by the 4x4.